Moto Guzzi has been building motorcycles since 1921, making it the longest established European motorcycle manufacturer in continuous production. The factory in Mandello del Lario, Italy, was the birthplace of several industry firsts—including the first wind tunnel for motorcycles, and an eight-cylinder engine.
Since 2004, Moto Guzzi has been owned by Piaggio, Europe’s biggest motorcycle manufacturer. Although production is not huge compared to the Japanese and American makers, the company is now on a stable footing and has a passionate fan base—attracted by the air-cooled 90° V-twin engines. The transverse cylinder heads projecting on either side of the bike are an easily identifiable feature.
Moto Guzzi is extremely popular with custom motorcycle builders, who tend to focus on the iconic Le Mans series of bikes built from 1976 onwards, and the V7. More recently, the ‘new’ V7 and V9 models have been a sales success, and have featured prominently in Moto Guzzi’s own ‘factory custom’ sponsored builds.
If there’s one trend we’d love to see more of this year, it’s engineered simplicity. We’re suckers for ultra-clean custom bikes that match timeless aesthetics to modern performance. It’s an art form that Filippo Barbacane is well versed in—as evidenced by this tastefully modded Moto Guzzi California. Filippo runs Officine Rossopuro on Italy’s Adriatic coast.…
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Looks-wise, the Moto Guzzi Breva 750 is one of the blandest motorcycles to ever roll out of the Mandello del Lario factory. But that doesn’t make it a bad bike—it just lacks the charisma of the several iconic Moto Guzzis that pundits usually drool over. Rusty Brains didn’t pick the Breva for its looks though.…
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We don’t usually go in for themed bikes around here—but once in a while a custom builder nails a concept and piques our interest. Case in point; this Moto Guzzi California 1100, which takes inspiration from the hit zombie apocalypse TV series, The Walking Dead. It’s the work of Matteucci Garage, run by Marco Matteucci…
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Ever heard the expression “A builder’s house is never finished?” It counts for custom motorcycle builders, too. Even though customization is their bread and butter, many of them ride bikes that are stock—or just partially modified. That was the status of Nicko Eigert’s 2012-model Moto Guzzi V7 up until recently. The founder of Indonesia’s Smoked…
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Axel Budde’s work is impossible to miss. His shop, Kaffeemaschine, focuses solely on classic Moto Guzzi models, turning them into elegant machines…
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The uncomfortable truth about custom motorcycles is that for every good one built, there are dozens of bad ones. All too often…
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As the annual EICMA trade show wraps up in Milan, we’re taking a look at some of our favorite highlights from the…
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We open this weekend’s proceedings with an elegant Moto Guzzi 1000 SP café racer from Italy’s North East Custom. Tamarit delivers a…
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The 1985 Paris-Dakar Rally will always be remembered for Gaston Rahier’s victory in the motorcycle division. The Belgian rally racer barely stood…
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The Swiss maestros at VTR Customs deliver the first custom BMW R1300GS that we’ve seen, while Radical Speedshop builds a bespoke Moto…
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Restomods by their very nature appear simpler than fully customized motorcycles, but they’re usually harder to get right. Customization leaves you free…
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Adventure bike manufacturers are currently locked into a giant arms race that’s unlikely to slow down anytime soon. Which is why the…
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